Touchscreen Glove Contacts

ABSTRACT

A glove contact for operation of a touchscreen device, removably attachable to a fingertip portion of a glove via a pressure sensitive adhesive, is presented. The glove contact features an electrical conductivity similar to that of human skin which enables a person wearing a glove equipped with the glove contact(s) of the present invention to enter data or otherwise operate a touchscreen. The glove contact features a functional shape specially designed to allow for secure attachment to the finger portion of a glove.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to devices for operating capacitive touchscreens and, more particularly, to flexible contacts removably attachable to the fingertip and/or thumb portions of gloves.

Background of the Invention

A touchscreen is an electronic visual display device that can detect the presence and location of a touch with the display area. The term “touchscreen” generally refers to a display screen that is responsive to touch by a person's fingers and typically, fingertips. Touchscreens are now well known in the art and have rapidly replaced keyboard entry devices and conventional display screens in a wide variety of commercial, industrial and medical equipment. Touchscreens are in common use in devices where information must be displayed and user input is required. The most common examples of such devices are likely mobile phones, commonly referred to as cell phones, followed by tablet computers.

Typically, a touchscreen equipped device such as a mobile phone or tablet computer is equipped with a computer processor that operates in the background to display information in the display area along with a control image. The processor monitors the control image to detect which portion of the image is activated by the user.

Touchscreens typically operate by monitoring a screen parameter such as capacitance. The vast majority of touchscreens in general use today are capacitance based screens. Formerly, some touchscreens were resistance based screens, but resistance based touchscreens have largely, if not entirely, been discontinued in favor of the more sensitive capacitance based touchscreens.

A capacitive touchscreen consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor. Since the human body is also an electrical conductor, touching the screen's surface distorts the screen's electrostatic field. This touch induced distortion is measurable as a change in capacitance. The location of the touch induced distortion is sent to the touchscreen equipped device's processor for processing. Because a capacitive touchscreen is activated by physical touch by an electrical conductor, typically a user's fingertips, the screen is unable to function if the user is wearing an electrically insulative material such as most types of gloves. This disadvantage adversely affects the usability of any touchscreen based device, such as a mobile phone, that is used in cold weather climates where the use of gloves is common and any industrial or commercial device where safety regulations require the use of gloves.

Due to the need of many individuals to both wear gloves and operate touchscreens, some efforts have been made to produce gloves with electrically conductive fingertip portions. U.S. Pat. No. 8,528,117 is an example of one such glove, where electrically conductive yam is used in the fingertip portions of the glove. While electrically conductive gloves may provide one solution for using touchscreen equipped devices while wearing gloves, it requires a person to buy at least one new pair of gloves and does nothing for a person who desires or needs to use existing gloves with a touchscreen operated device.

One prior art effort at designing a touch screen contact that is removably attachable to gloves is shown in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0066658. This device comprises a conductive circular plate with bendable prongs. In use, the prongs of the device penetrate, i.e. puncture, the finger portion of a glove and are bent around a user's finger, inside the glove. While this device may be effective in terms of touch screen operation, the device has the disadvantage of making two punctures or holes per glove finger portion on any glove with which it is used. This aspect of the device may be unacceptable for safety reasons in certain types of work gloves and may be unacceptable for cosmetic reasons to wearers of other types of gloves.

Presently, there is a need in the art for a device that can be removably attached to a user's gloves, without damaging the gloves, and that mimics the electrical conductivity of human skin and would therefore allow for touchscreen operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention glove contact is removably attachable to a fingertip portion of a glove via an adhesive and has an electrical conductivity similar to that of human skin which enables a person wearing a glove equipped with the glove contacts of the present invention to enter data or otherwise operate a touchscreen. The glove contact of the present invention is a contact patch made from electrically conductive fabric material having a resistance of about 10 ohms which approximates the electrical resistance of human skin. The glove contact in its “as shipped” form comprises three layers of material, i.e. a layer of electrically conductive material, a release tape layer and an intermediate layer of adhesive disposed between the conductive layer and the release tape. In the glove contact's “as used” form, the release tape is removed from the contact prior to the contact's application to a finger portion of a glove.

The shape of the glove contact is of particular importance to its functionality. The glove contact has a main body, a pair of triangular wrap portions, and a glove tip portion. The main body is generally rectangular having long sides and short sides. A triangular wrap portion extends from each of the two long sides of the main body. The apex of each triangular wrap portion is radiused so as not to present a sharp edge which may more easily tend to cause the adhesive layer to peel from the finger portion of a glove. Similarly, the short edges of the main body are slightly curved rather than straight and are rounded off at the corners, again so as not to present a straight edge or sharp corner which may have a greater tendency to cause the adhesive layer of the glove contact to peel once attached to a finger portion of a glove. An extension of the main body functions as the glove tip portion of the contact patch. The glove contact includes a glove application point defined by the centroidal axis of the combined area of the wrap portions.

To apply the glove contact to a glove, a user first peels the release tape from the glove contact and applies the contact to a finger portion of a glove generally aligning the fingertip of the glove with the fingertip application point of the contact. Thereafter, the triangular wrap portions are wrapped up around the sides of the finger portion of the glove and the glove tip portion of the glove contact is similarly wrapped up over the fingertip portion of the glove.

The above and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a touch screen equipped device and a glove equipped with the conductive, removably attachable, glove contact of the present invention on the fingertip portion of the glove.

FIG. 2A illustrates a top view of the glove contact of the present invention.

FIG. 2B illustrates a top view of an alternative embodiment of the glove contact of the present invention.

FIG. 3A schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the glove contact of the present invention.

FIG. 3B schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the glove contact of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary process for making the glove contact of the present invention.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a glove with the glove contact of the present invention installed on a finger portion of the glove.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the Invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

With reference to FIG. 1, a glove contact 10 of the present invention is depicted installed on a finger portion 14 of a glove 12 worn on the hand of a user. As depicted in FIG. 1, the glove contact 10 is being used to operate a touch screen device 16 such as a cell phone or tablet computer having a capacitive touch screen 18. The glove contact is made from a fabric having an electrical resistivity or conductivity that approximates that of human skin and thereby is able to operate touch screen devices equipped with capacitive touch screens. Capacitive touch screens are designed to be responsive to the electrical conductance of human skin and will not operate when contacted by an insulative material such as the wool, cotton and various nylon, polyester and other synthetic materials of which most gloves are comprised.

With reference to FIG. 2A, a top view of the glove contact 10 of the present invention is shown. The shape of the glove contact 10 is of particular importance to its functionality. The glove contact 10 comprises a main body 20 and two wrap portions 22. The main body 20 includes a glove tip portion 24, (i.e. a portion which faces outwardly towards the tip of a finger portion 14 of a glove 12) and an inwardly facing portion 26 (i.e. a portion which faces inwardly along the finger portion 14 towards a palm of the glove), with a center portion 28, therebetween.

The main body 20 is of generally rectangular configuration having long sides 30 and an inwardly facing short side 32 and an outwardly facing short side 34. The inwardly and outwardly facing short sides 32 and 34 are not straight but are slightly curved and are rounded at corners 36. Extending from both of the long sides 30 of the main body 20 are the wrap portions 22. The wrap portions 22 are generally in the configuration of an isosceles triangle comprised of equal sides 38, a base 40, a base angle 54, and an apex 42. The apex 42 of the triangular wrap portions is radiused.

The apex 42 of each triangular wrap portion 22 is radiused so as not to present a sharp edge which may more easily tend to cause an adhesive layer 58 of the glove contact 10 to peel from a finger portion 14 of a glove 12. Similarly, the inwardly and outwardly facing short edges 32 and 34 of the main body 20 are slightly curved rather than straight and are radiused at the corners 32, again so as not to present a straight edge or sharp corner which may have a greater tendency to cause the adhesive layer 58 of the glove contact 10 to peel once attached to a finger portion 14 of a glove 10.

The main body 20 has a horizontal centroidal axis 46 and the wrap portions 22 (collectively) have a horizontal centroidal axis 48. The horizontal centroidal axis of the wrap portions 48 is offset from the horizontal centroidal axis of the main body 20 by an offset 44. The offset 44 has the effect of creating unequal length extensions of the main body, i.e. the glove tip portion 24 and the inwardly facing portion 26, wherein the glove tip portion 24 has a vertical length 50 greater than a vertical length 52 of the inwardly facing portion 26.

The centroid of the combined section of the wrap portions 22, i.e. the intersection of the horizontal centroidal axis 48 and a vertical centroidal axis 49 defines also the approximate glove contact application point 47. It is believed, that a user wearing a glove will typically install the glove contact 10 such that the center of his or her fingertip aligns with the glove application point 47.

FIG. 2B depicts a top view of an alternative embodiment 11 of the glove contact. The alternative embodiment 1 of the glove contact is essentially the same in physical configuration as that of the glove contact 10, with the principle difference being that the short side 34 of the main body 20 is has a greater degree of curvature, i.e. is semicircular. The alternative embodiment of the glove contact 11 is made from a stiffer material than that of the glove contact 10. Experimentation has shown that the semicircular configuration of the fingertip portion of 24 of the main body 20 improves the function of the fingertip portion 24 when a stiffer material is used.

With reference to FIG. 3A, an exemplary cross-section of the glove contact 10 of the present invention is shown. The glove contact 10 comprises three layers in its “as sold” form. The glove contact 10 has a first or conductive layer 56 composed of an electrically conductive material; the second or adhesive layer 58 composed of an adhesive affixed to one side of the first layer; and, a third or carrier tape layer 60 composed of a carrier tape which also functions as a release tape.

The electrically conductive layer 56 is composed of a fabric material which approximates the electrical conductivity of human skin, i.e. a material having an electrical resistance of about 10⁴ ohms when measured using American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) standard D257, i.e. Standard Test Methods for DC Resistance or Conductance of Insulating Materials. One such suitable fabric is commercially available from Matmarket Corporation under the trade name Connect. The conductive layer 56 can have a range of thicknesses. Experimentation has shown that a thickness of about 20 mils is well-suited to the glove contacts 10 of the present invention.

The adhesive layer 58 is a pressure sensitive adhesive transfer tape, which is available in a range of thicknesses. Experimentation has shown that a thickness of about 5 mils is well-suited to the glove contacts 10 of the present invention. Suitable adhesive transfer tapes for use with the present invention are available from Avery Dennison Corporation, part no. FT1125.

The carrier tape layer 60 of the present invention is a commercially available carrier tape of sufficient strength to be pulled through a die cutting machine. Suitable carrier tapes for use with the present invention are available from Danco Packaging, under the trade name or model no. KPPC.

Experimentation has shown that the surface area of the adhesive layer 58 of the glove contact 10 (one side only) should be in the range of about 1.5 square inches to about 2.5 square inches with 2.0 square inches being well-suited to a majority of glove applications. Glove contacts 10 with surface areas below 1.5 square inches tend to have insufficient area to create a secure bond between the glove contact 10 and the glove 12 to which it is being applied. Although conductivity tends to improve with increased surface area, more material, i.e. surface areas of greater than 2.5 square inches have proven to be cumbersome.

Similarly, offsets 44 between the horizontal centroidal axis 48 of the wrap portions 22 and the horizontal centroidal axis 46 of the main body 20 in the range of about 0.25 inches to about 0.030 inches have been determined to provide a suitable length 50 for the glove tip portion 24, such that the glove tip portion 24 securely wraps up and around a tip 70 of a finger portion 14 of a glove 12, when used with glove contacts 10 having a surface area (one side only) within the range of about 1.5 to 2.5 square inches.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method of making the glove contacts 10 of the present invention. The glove contacts 10 are comprised of the conductive layer 56, adhesive layer 58 and the carrier tape 60. In a lamination step 62, the conductive layer 56 is unrolled and the back of the fabric is laminated to the adhesive layer 58. The adhesive layer 58 is comprised of commercially available adhesive transfer tape. The adhesive transfer tape in its commercially available form has a release layer which is insufficiently strong to allow the laminated fabric to be pulled through a die cutting machine. Therefore, in a carrier tape application step 64 of the process, the release tape supplied with the adhesive transfer tape 58 is removed and a carrier tape 60 is substituted for the release tape. In a die cutting step 66 of the process, the laminated material composed of the conductive layer 56, adhesive layer 58, and carrier tape layer 60 is pulled through a die cutting machine where the glove contacts 10 of the invention are cut to shape. In a packaging step 68, the glove contacts 10 are packaged for sale.

With reference to FIG. 3B, an exemplary cross-section of the alternative embodiment of the glove contact 11 of the present invention is shown. The cross-section of the alternative embodiment comprises five (5) layers. From top to bottom, the five layers are as follows: A top or outermost layer 80 comprises an electrically conductive polyurethane film. Electrically conductive polyurethane film suitable for use in the present invention is available from the Matmarket Company (U.S. office located in Portsmouth, N.H.). The next layer 78 comprises an adhesive film which bonds the electrically conductive polyurethane film layer 80 to a fabric layer 76. Suitable adhesives are known to those of skill in the art. In the exemplary embodiment, the fabric layer 76 comprises a polyester fabric. Suitable polyester fabrics are known to those of skill in the art and are available from multiple suppliers. A variety of other types of fabrics are also suitable. The next layer 58 is another adhesive layer and the bottom layer 60 is a carrier tape layer. Layers 58 and 60 are essentially the same in all material respects as those described with respect to FIG. 3A.

The cross section of the alternative embodiment of the glove contract 11 of the present invention is fabricated using a process similar to that depicted in FIG. 4, with the addition of another lamination step, i.e. the electrically conductive polyurethane layer 80 is typically provided by the manufacturer with the adhesive layer 78 already applied. The adhesive layer 78 is protected by a release film which must be removed prior to lamination with the fabric layer 76.

With reference to FIG. 5, for purposes of illustration, the glove contact 10 of the present invention is depicted installed on one of the finger portions 14 (typically the index finger) of the glove 12. A typical glove will have four finger portions 14, each finger portion having a fingertip portion 70, as well as a thumb portion 72, having a thumb tip portion 74. During installation, typically, a user will peel off the carrier strip backing layer 60 and align the glove application point 47, i.e. the centroid of the combined wrap sections 22 with the portion of the glove with which he expects to make contact with a touch screen. Typically, the vertical axis 49 of the glove contact 10 will be generally parallel with the length of the finger portion 14 of the glove 12 to which the glove contact 10 is applied.

Once contact between the finger portion 14 of the glove 12 and the application point 47 of the glove contact 10 is made, the user will press the glove against the glove contact 10 such the center portion 29 and inwardly facing portion 26 of the main body 20 of the glove contact 10 is secured to the adhesive layer 58. Subsequently, a user will typically wrap the wrap portions 22 up and around the finger portion 14 of the glove 12. Thereafter, the user will wrap the glove tip portion 24 up around the fingertip portion 70 of the glove 12. Removal is generally the reverse of the installation procedure described above. The glove contact 10 may be used on any finger of a glove or the thumb. A person engaged in touch typing or like work, could, if desired, attach glove contacts 10 to the fingertip portions of each finger portion of the glove 12.

The foregoing detailed description and appended drawings are intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and are not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed and/or utilized. Those skilled in the art will understand that modifications and alternative embodiments of the present invention which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the foregoing specification and drawings, and of the claims appended below are possible and practical. It is intended that the claims cover all such modifications and alternative embodiments. 

1. A flexible contact attachable to a glove, comprising: a functional shape designed to attach and conform to a finger portion of a glove, comprised of a flexible composite material; wherein the flexible composite material includes a layer of flexible, electrically conductive material and a layer of flexible, adhesive material; wherein, the layer of flexible, electrically conductive material has an electrical conductivity sufficient to operate a touchscreen; wherein the layer of flexible adhesive material is a pressure sensitive adhesive tape attachable to the electrically conductive material on one side and attachable to the finger portion of a glove on the other side; and wherein the functional shape includes a generally rectangular main body portion and two generally triangular wrap portions.
 2. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein the layer of electrically conductive material has an electrical resistivity of about 10⁴ ohms when measured using American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) standard D257.
 3. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein functional shape has a surface area of between 1.5 to 2.5 square inches per side.
 4. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein the main body of the functional shape is generally rectangular having long sides and short sides, wherein the short sides are curved and radiused at corners formed with the long sides, wherein the curve of the short sides and radiuses at the corners function to resist peeling of the adhesive layer when applied to the finger portion of a glove.
 5. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein the generally triangular wrap portions are generally isosceles triangles.
 6. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein each generally triangular wrap portion has an apex and wherein the apex is radiused in order to resist peeling of the adhesive layer when applied to the finger portion of a glove.
 7. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein the main body has a horizontal centroidal axis and the combined area of the wrap portions has a horizontal centriodal axis and wherein the horizontal centroidal axis of the wrap portions is offset from the horizontal centroidal axis of the main body.
 8. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein the flexible composite material includes a flexible carrier tape layer applied to the flexible adhesive layer.
 9. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 1, wherein the main body portion further includes a fingertip portion.
 10. A flexible contact attachable to a glove, comprising: a functional shape designed to attach and conform to a finger portion of a glove, comprised of a flexible composite material; wherein the flexible composite material includes a layer of flexible, electrically conductive material and a layer of flexible, adhesive material; wherein, the layer of flexible, electrically conductive material has an electrical conductivity sufficient to operate a touchscreen; wherein the layer of flexible adhesive material is a pressure sensitive adhesive tape attachable to the electrically conductive material on one side and attachable to the finger portion of a glove on the other side; wherein the functional shape includes a generally rectangular main body portion having a horizontal centroidal axis and two generally triangular wrap portions, the combined area of the wrap portions having a horizontal centroidal axis; and wherein the horizontal centroidal axis of the wrap portions is offset from the horizontal centroidal axis of the main body portion.
 11. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 10, wherein the layer of electrically conductive material has an electrical resistivity of about 10⁴ ohms when measured using American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) standard D257.
 12. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 10, wherein functional shape has a surface area of between 1.5 to 2.5 square inches per side.
 13. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 10, wherein the main body of the functional shape is generally rectangular having long sides and short sides, wherein the short sides are curved and radiused at corners formed with the long sides, wherein the curve of the short sides and radiuses at the corners function to resist peeling of the adhesive layer when applied to the finger portion of a glove.
 14. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 10, wherein the generally triangular wrap portions are generally isosceles triangles.
 15. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 10, wherein each generally triangular wrap portion has an apex and wherein the apex is radiused in order to resist peeling of the adhesive layer when applied to the finger portion of a glove.
 16. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 10, wherein the flexible composite material includes a flexible carrier tape layer applied to the flexible adhesive layer.
 17. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 10, wherein the main body portion further includes a fingertip portion.
 18. A flexible contact attachable to a glove, comprising: a functional shape comprised of a flexible composite material having a surface area per side in the range of about 1.5 to 2.5 square inches, the functional shape designed to attach and conform to a finger portion of a glove; wherein the flexible composite material includes a layer of flexible, electrically conductive material, a flexible carrier tape layer and a layer of flexible adhesive material disposed therebetween; wherein, the layer of flexible, electrically conductive material has an electrical resistivity of about 10⁴ ohms; wherein the layer of flexible adhesive material is a pressure sensitive adhesive tape; wherein the functional shape includes a generally rectangular main body portion having a horizontal centroidal axis and two generally triangular wrap portions, the combined area of the wrap portions having a horizontal centroidal axis; and wherein the horizontal centroidal axis of the wrap portions is offset from the horizontal centroidal axis of the main body portion.
 19. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 18, wherein the offset of between the horizontal centroidal axis of the wrap portions and the horizontal centroidal axis of the main body portion is between 0.1 and 0.2 inches.
 20. The flexible contact attachable to a glove of claim 18, wherein the main body portion further includes a fingertip portion. 